Always wearing an easy smile, Hasidic rabbi Haskel Besser spreads joy wherever he goes, enriching the lives of his many friends and congregants with his profound understanding of both Orthodox Judaism and humannature.

With warmth and admiration, journalist Warren Kozak writes about the rabbi's extraordinary life--from his family's escape to Palestine in the late 1930s to his witnessing of Israel's rebirth in 1948, to his move to New York City, where he lives today.

A rare window into the normally closed world of Hasidic Jews, The Rabbi of 84th Street is also the story...